God Hears Her Podcast

Everyone has someone in their life that they hope comes to know our loving God. Who is that for you? In today’s episode of God Hears Her, Elisa and Eryn compile a list of faith-sharing tips that can guide us through conversations with those on our “Most Wanted List”—those we most want to know Jesus. Join along and hear how God can use us as a voice for Him.

Notes and Quotes: 

• Make a “Most Wanted List”: A list of people you most want to come to know the God you love.
• “There is somebody in everybody’s mind that they wish would come to know the God they love.”
• People who don’t know Jesus think of people who do know Jesus as hypocritical, judgmental, or too political.
• “A really big reason I don’t talk about Jesus that much is because I’m afraid I am going to get it wrong.”
• “You really can’t argue with a story. So if we can be as confident in our story (that involves our faith and God) as someone is with their story, then we don’t need to apologize for who God is. We can simply share who He has been to us.”
• Faith Sharing Tips: Know what your story is, know how to tell your story, know how to ask other people about their story, know how to explain beyond the jargon of our faith, share through your actions, pray.
• Understand that Jesus “has” the person you love. The timing and end result may not be the same as you want, but He has them.
• Trust and believe that God will provide the words when you are trying to share about Him.
• “In the end we do our own work by trusting that God has this.”

Links/Books/Resources Mentioned In Show: 

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• Free eBooklet Why We Believe: Evidences for the Christian Faith
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating on iTunes! 
• Order God Sees Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women 
• David Kinnaman’s book: unChristian

During this week’s episode of God Hears Her, Vivian Mabuni admits that as an American of Asian descent, she’s struggled to fit in, and this reality leads to a conversation on diversity, inclusion, and healing. From understanding terms like “microaggression” to walking us through how to be a good friend to someone who’s hurting, this is a conversation about how God intended us to love others, even those who are different from us.

Guest Bio: 

Vivian Mabuni is a teacher and uses the platforms of writing, speaking, and podcasting to encourage women to find the abundant life Christ offers within the good and bad of life. Her battle with cancer led her to see God as present and faithful, even when life is not working out the way she expected. She wants people to know that following Jesus is not a pain-free and smooth journey, but it is still rich and good! Her newest book is titled Open Hands Willing Heart: Discover the Joy of Saying Yes to God.

Notes and Quotes: 

• Microaggression: An othering; it separates us. According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, a microaggression is “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group.”
• “I have been on a journey, really, and some of it has been learning to actually embrace and celebrate my ethnic heritage because most of my life I spent trying to fit in.”
• Here’s a kind way to ask a person of a different ethnic background about themselves:  “Will you share with me your ethnic heritage?” Also, learn your own ethnic heritage so you can contribute to the conversation.
• “American does not mean ‘white,’ and we tend to start to think that is the normal; and that is not necessarily normal. It’s its own experience.”
• There is a strong rooting that takes place when we understand who we are and where we are from.
• God intends for us to live in unity, but unity is not uniformity. 
• “I am not going to let what would be injustice, impact my character.”
• “Instead of segregating our offerings into little cliques, which is so difficult, can we be more intentional of being inclusive?”
• How to help a friend who is healing: “To be a good friend, don’t offer advice. The present of presence just goes so much further.”
• We all heal differently, and learning to be a gracious receiver is hard. We need to be respectful that each of us handles suffering differently.

Links/Books/Resources Mentioned In Show: 

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• Discover the Word series with Vivian: “Open Hands Willing Heart”
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating on iTunes! 
• Order God Sees Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women
• Vivians’s Podcast: Someday is Here
• Vivian’s Book: Open Hands Willing Heart
• Vivian’s Book: Warrior in Pink
• Bryan Stevenson’s Book: Just Mercy

Show Summary:

Feeling unseen, unheard, and invisible is something many of us struggle with. In this week’s episode of God Hears Her, Robert Gelinas describes overcoming feelings of being invisible and introduces us to Hagar and the God who sees and hears her and us. 

Guest Bio: 

Robert Gelinas deeply desires to see the body of Christ united and empowered to serve the poor and the poor in spirit; the miserable and the marginalized; the disabled and those deemed unimportant. Robert is the pastor of Colorado Community Church and the author of several books including his most recent, Discipled by Jesus. He and his wife, Barbara, live with their six children in the Denver area.

Notes and Quotes: 

• “I felt loved, but I did not feel seen or heard in my family. I felt invisible.”
• “The pastor says, ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,’ and when I went under water it was like time stopped because I didn’t know who my dad was, and this man said Father.”
• Sometimes we don’t realize there is a big gap in our heart that desires to be known or noticed, until we are. 
• “The people we interact with on this planet can mirror how He views us.”
• “I don’t think the first woman wondered if she was seen and heard. I don’t think Eve ever woke up before the fall and said, ‘Does God see me, and does my husband see me?’” 
• “Are you really there if nobody sees you?”
• “We would rather be invisible than be exposed.”
• Our fear of being vulnerable, or being exposed, gets in the way of us being seen or being known.
• “Is it a right? It is more than a right, it’s what you were created for.” –Referring to a woman questioning if it is her right to be seen and heard.
• When you feel invisible, you think it’s possibly your fault. But when you have that moment where God reveals to you that He sees you, then at least you know: I am not invisible. I am real. I exist.

Links/Books/Resources Mentioned In Show: 

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• Free e-booklet Real Love by Bill Crowder
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating on iTunes! 
• Order God Sees Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women on Amazon

Verses Mentioned In Show: 

• Genesis 16:13 NIV “You are the God who sees me.” 
• John 4:15-18 NIV Jesus with the woman at the well.

The Book of Lamentations NIV

Show Summary:

How would you describe the perfect friend? Have you ever thought to ask yourself, “Am I friendable?” In this week’s episode of God Hears Her, Elisa and Eryn share tips and experiences that can help us find, and become, better friends. 

Notes and Quotes: 

• Regarding friendship: “I think instead of looking for that 24-7, I think we need to learn to be it. I call that being friendable—that I am open to a friend by being a friend to others.”
• Friend tip: You have to know your own story.
• Asking other people their story. Use the elevator analogy when asking someone their story. Get in the elevator, but allow them to choose what floor they are going to. Instead of pushing and probing, let it be open-ended and allow the person you asked to decide what floor, or level, they would like to get off at.
• Let the vulnerability lay in the lap of the person you are trying to befriend.
• Kill the competition. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you can be happy and confident in what God is doing in your life instead of comparing your life to what He’s doing in the lives of others. 
• Be open to finding friends in unexpected places. 
• “We are wired for connection and friendship; and I think that God listens, and He wants to provide us friends that can meet us there.”
• Don’t be afraid to ask God, “Hey, will you bring me a friend?” or “Hey, will you make me more friendable?”
• “I think there is something different that God has provided for us by providing Jesus. It is a kind of a friendship—it’s a spiritual friendship—but it’s a companion.”
• Leaning into God (in the areas we look for fulfillment from a friend) can protect our friendships and in turn make us closer friends with God.

Links: 

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating on iTunes!
• Support the Podcast!
• Our Daily Bread
• Order God Hears Her: 365 Devotions for Women by Women on Amazon

Verses: 

• John 15:14-15 NIV “I have called you friends.”
• John 14:16-18 NIV “I will come to you.”

Show Summary: 

Do you find that God speaks to you in a powerful, audible voice? Or do you have a hard time discerning if God is speaking to you at all? In this episode of God Hears Her, Elisa and Eryn discuss a number of ways we can hear God.

Notes and Quotes: 

• “The title of this podcast is God Hears Her, and to be honest it has always thrown me. God hears her . . . wait, how do we hear God?”
• God speaks to us during our Scripture reading.
• Some of us may hear God audibly, whether it be loud and known or as a soft whisper.
• We can hear from God through other people: our mentors, friends, family. Be sure to discern appropriately whether the person speaking into you is doing it from the heart of God. Review their words against Scripture and allow God to confirm. 
• God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, the living Word of God. This can sometimes bring out unexplainable emotion in you, even tears.
• Eryn’s unplugged morning routine: 1. What am I feeling? 2. Recap yesterday. 3. Talk to God. What is on your heart and mind? 4. Confess. 5. Invite Him in: “God, what do you want to tell me?” 6. Open up Scripture.
• Journaling can allow us to hear and connect with God.
• Listen for God while you enjoy art, nature, music, books, conversation, or even a Bible study.
• Pick a word. Each year focus on a word that God has given to you and really lean into His wisdom and focus on that word. 
• “How do I hear God? Sometimes it’s in the silence of just sitting and knowing that He hears me.”

Links:

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating on iTunes!
• Support the Podcast!
• Free e-booklet: “God Is Not Silent” by Bill Crowder
• Our Daily Bread

Show Summary: 

God could have designed humans to eat rocks, but instead He created food and gave men and women thousands of taste buds to enjoy it. On this episode of “God Hears Her,” Margaret Feinberg joins the show to talk food, which is really a discussion into the deepest longings of a woman’s heart, and God’s invitation to taste and see that He is good. 

About Our Guest:

Margaret Feinberg is a podcaster on The Joycast, a speaker, and an author of several books that have sold over a million copies. She was recently named one of Christianity Today’s top 50 women shaping culture and the church. She lives in Utah with her husband, Leif, and their super-pup Hershey. Her recent book is Taste and See: Discovering God Among Butchers, Bakers and Fresh Food Markets.

Notes and Quotes:  

• "Food is God’s love made edible." 
• "God creates the garden with a plethora of food and then gives us thousands of taste buds to enjoy it." 
• "What we really ache for is to know and be known, to love and be loved, and to enter a place where we can be vulnerable and any sense of shame scurries away." 
• "Communities are little mirrors that reflect ourselves back to us." 
• "There are times when I need, through prayer and Scripture, to hear God’s love for me.  And there are other times, for that to really take root, I need to hear it through other humans who are reflecting His glory and His presence." 
• "Social media is a dangerous game because it begins to feel like 'life.' But when words come from a person, in person, they are more meaningful and life-changing." 
• "If you want to have community, you have to build it, often out of nothing." 
• "If we want to be seen, we may have to open our eyes and see first. If we want to be heard, we have to become people who are really great listeners." 
• "The deepest hungers of your heart are uniquely designed to be met first and foremost by God. Jesus really is the One who can speak the syllables you most need to hear." 
• "Reach out to meet others’ needs; and as you love them and bring joy to them, you’ll find some of your needs met too." 
• "Choose good people: life-giving, Jesus-loving, makes-you-laugh-until-tears-run-down- your-cheeks-and-other-places kind of people."

Links:

• Show Notes on godhearsher.org
• God Hears Her website
• Share the love by giving this episode a 5-star rating!
• Get your copy of Margaret Feinberg’s book Taste and See on Amazon
• Free e-booklet: Open Hearts, Open Homes
• Our Daily Bread website

Verses: 

Hebrews 13:21 NIV “We are called, equipped, and chosen.” 

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV “Plan and a future”

Ephesians 2:10 NIV “Appointed good works for me to do”

Romans 8:38 NIV “I am loved by God.”

2 Corinthians 10 NIV “Take every thought captive.”

Where is God when we’re in pain? What does it look like to trust God’s plan and pace in the midst of suffering? On this episode of God Hears Her, Xochitl Dixon and her service dog Callie join Eryn and Elisa to share how God can use even the tough stuff of life to draw us to Himself. 

Click here for Show Notes on godhearsher.org.

Brokenness is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to define our lives. Like gooey unfinished brownies, God isn’t finished with us yet. Our undoneness can point us to our need for God and point others to their need for him as well. In today’s episode of God Hears Her, Elisa Morgan shares her story of how God created beauty out of her broken childhood and broken family-life. 

Click here for Show Notes on godhearsher.org.

What’s blocking you from believing the truth that God sees you, hears you, and loves you? In this first episode of “God Hears Her,” Eryn shares her story of creating an organization called “So Worth Loving.” Both Elisa and Eryn share some practical ways to recognize and remove the lies that keep us from experiencing the love of God.

Click here for Show Notes on godhearsher.org.